Safety releasing-clamp for baled bed-springs.



J. BERNSTEIN & L. E. BAILEY. SAFETY RELEASING CLAMP TOR BALED BED SPRINGS. APPLICATION IILED' JUNE 22, 1908.

923,758. Patented June 1,1909.

INVENTORS ria ke Be-lmselh Zea/0's Z. Badgy.

UNITED srrnrs Eric.

JAKE BERNSIEIN AND LEWIS E. BAILEY, OF ATHENS, GEORGIA; SAID BAILEY A SSIGNOR TO SOL J. BOLEY, OF ATHENS, GEORGIA.

SAFETY RELEASING-CLAMP FOR BALED BED-SPRINGS.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1909.

Application filed June 22, 1908. Serial No. 439,719.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAKE BERNSTEIN and LEWIS E. BAILEY, residing at Athens, in the county of Clarke and State of Georgia, have invented a new and Improved Safety Releasing-Clamp for Baled Bed-Springs, of Which the following is a specification.

In shipping bed sprin s from the factory to dealers, they are usua ly delivered baled, some bales carrying twelve and others six sets of such springs, and these are usually compressed as compactly as possible for economy of space and expense in shipping.

In the ordinary method of tying up the bales, when handling them, the springs fly upwardly with terrific force when the bale is opened, making it a source of danger for those handling them as well as causing disarrangement and sometimes breakage or disconnection of the parts constituting the baled sets of springs.

Our invention has for its object to provide a simple and efiicient means in the nature of a clamp device for releasing the baled bed springs or folding bed springs with absolute safety and the said invention comprehends generally, a bed portion upon which the bale is mounted, an opposing member for clamping down on the top of the bale, and lever and toggle connections cooperatively connected with each other, the bed and the clamping member, that can be conveniently actuated so as to gradually release the bales.

In its more subordinate features, our invention consists incertain details of con struction and novel combination of parts, all of which will be hereinafter fully eX- plained, s ecifically pointed out in the appended c aims and: illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which .Figure 1, is a perspective view of our invention, the parts being at their bale clamping position, the bale of bed springs bein shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2, is a vertical longitudinal section thereof, the parts being,

shown as adjusted for their final or clamping position, the direction of movement of the ever devices being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 3, is a similar view showing the parts in their released positions. Fig. 4., is a top plan view of the resser member only. Fig. 5, is a cross sectlon on the line 55 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6, is a horizontal section on the line 66 of Fig. 2.

In its practical construction, our invention com rises a bed portion G formed of light stee side bars gg, whose ends are turned up to form vertical flanges gg that are ertured for the purpose presently exp ained, the said bed portion also including the end cross bars g -g connected to the side bars gg and the diagonally crossed brace bars g g. The bed portion G is adapted to form the support or rest for the bale of springs, and it cooperates with an opposing clamping member E which need not be the full length of the bed G and which is formed of a light steel channel or Ushaped member, as shown. Midway the member E, two curved brace irons H are secured one to each of the opposite side flanges e-c of the member E, to which the ends of the said braces are bolted. Near each end of the channel shaped clamping member E is transversely mounted a bearing bracket C, the upper end of which has a tubular head 0, disposed in the longitudinal plane of the member E, while the lower part is bent to form pendent straddle legs 0 that are disposed at right angles to the tubular head and are .pivotally connectedto the side flanges e-e of the member E to fold down to a horizontal position thereon. Slidably mounted on each of the tubular bracket heads c-c is a stout rod or bar 13-13 whose outer ends terminate in hooks bb for removably sustaining hangers FF of triangular shape, the ends of which have hooks for engaging the a ertured ends of the side bars gg of the ed frame G that is suspended from the bars or rods BB by the said hangers FF in a manner clearly understood by reference to the drawings. Each of the brackets C--O has an inwardly proj ected apertured lug cc with which engage the outer ends of the hook rods DD, the inner ends of which hook into the crank end a of the operating lever A, fulcrumed on a stud bolt h that takes through the oppositely disposed brackets H, the said bolt passing through the said crank end a at a point midway the points where the hook rods DD. join therewith, as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, from which it will be seen that one of the rods connects with the member a above its fulcrum while the other member D joins therewith below its fulcrum.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the drawings, the complete construction of our invention, its general application and advantages will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

When adjusted to the position shown in Figs. 1, and 2, with the crank end of the lever A in the vertical plane, the expansive force of the bale contained between the bed G and the clamp E serves to draw the several parts tightly together, it being understood the greater the expansion, the more firmly will the parts remain in the locked position, since the strain on the end hangers has a tendency to swing the brackets C-C outwardly, which strain is however transmitted through the rods DD to the crank end of the lever A equally above and below its fulcrum, the brackets 0 being thereby sustained in their vertical position for holding the bars B-B to their horizontal position. Now, to release the bale, it only is necessary to slightly pull upwardly on the outer end of the lever A, since the force now applied will change the relative positions of the parts CB and A and permit the brackets OC to swing outwardly and the bars B-B down- Wardly, the latter being, however, held from sliding out of the tubular heads cc by frictional binding. The arrangement of the parts is such that so long as a slight resist ance is maintained on the lever A, the members BC and A are automatically sustained at their intermediate positions by the expansive force of the bale against the members G and E, thus making the operation an easy and safe one as well as overcoming all danger of a sudden expansion of the springs in the bale.

While we prefer to arrange the several parts substantially in the manner shown and described, the said arrangement may be readily modified or varied without departing from our invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Amechanism for the purposes described, comprising a pair of opposing clamping members, shiftable connections between the said clamping members and means carried by one of the clamping members for actuating the shiftable connections.

2. A mechanism for the purpose described, comprising a pair of opposing clamping members, shiftable connections between the said opposing clamping members and means carried by one of the clamping members for actuating the shiftable connections to vary the distance between the clam ing members and for holding them to a rdlatively fixed position.

3. The combination of a relatively fixedly held clamping member and an o posing movable clamping member and s iftable connections between the opposite ends of the op iosing clamping members; of lever contro led devices mounted on the movable member that join with the shiftable connections for changing the position of the said connections relatively to the clamping members.

4. The combination with a relatively fixedly held clamping member for engaging one side of an expansive body, a movable clamping member for engaging the op )osite side of the expansive body, link mem ers at each end of the opposing clamping members that connect the two clamping members, and lever controlled devices on the movable clam )ing member that joins with the link mem ers and operates to shift the link members to hold them to different positions relatively to the said opposing clamping mem bers.

5. The combination with a relatively fixedly held clamping member for engaging one side of an expansive body, a movable clamping member for engaging the o )posite side of the said body, an arm extended from each end of the movable clamping member pivotally connected to said member, a suspension link on the outer end. of each of the said arms that connects with the outer ends of the relatively fixedly held clamping member, and

lever controlled devices mounted on the movable clam ing member and joined. with. the arms for clianging the position of the connections between the movable and fixedly held clamping members.

6. The combination with the relatively fixedly held bottom clam ping member, of a movable clamping mem er, a pivot bearing at each end of the movable clamping member, a rod slidably mounted in each of said pivot bearings, connections between said rods and the fixedly held clamping member, a hand lever fulcrumed on the movable clamping member, connections between said lever and said pivot bearings to cause said bearings to be shifted when the lever is moved to change the distance between the fixed and movable clamping members.

7. In a mechanism of the character described, the following elements in combination, a relatively fixedly held clamping member, an opposing clamping member, devices at each end of the clamping members for joining the said members and lever controlled devices that cooperate with the said devices and adapted when the lever is set to one position to draw the opposing members toward each other and when the lever is set to another position to release the said members.

JAKE BERNSTEIN. LEWIS E. BAILEY. Witnesses SOL J. BOLEY, O. A. LAMBERT. 

